HHS Grants for Dentists
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), not the American Dental Association (ADA), offers relief funds to dentists.
This means that dentists who were unable to receive relief earlier can now send applications to get Provider Relief Fund.
This initiative is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, an HHS agency, without the involvement of the ADA.
This initiative will allow eligible dentists to get up to 2% of their reported patient revenue from the most recent tax filing.
The ADA Council on Government Affairs advocated for this funding to provide much-needed relief to dentists, especially during the pandemic.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the important details of this advocacy.
Eligibility Criteria of HHS Grants for Dentists
Here’s the list of eligibility criteria for providing relief funds to dentists under HHS grants:
- Dentists who have billed their state’s Medicaid managed care plans, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or Medicaid directly for dental health services.
- Dentists who own a subsidiary that directly billed their state’s CHIP, Medicaid or Medicaid managed care plans for dental health services.
- Dental service providers who have directly billed health insurance companies for oral healthcare services or dentists who own a practice and directly billed health insurance companies for oral healthcare services.
- Certified dental care providers who don’t accept insurance and have billed patients for dental care services, or dentists who own a practice that doesn’t accept insurance and have billed patients for dental care services.
Some additional requirements for dentists to be eligible for HHS dental relief funds include the applicant dentist:
- Not having received payments from General Medicare Distribution’s $50 billion budget.
- Having filed a federal tax return for financial years 2017, 2018 or 2019, or being an entity excluded for having to file an income tax return along with having no beneficial owner who is required to file income tax returns to the federal government, such as state-owned healthcare clinic or hospital owners.
- Having provided dental care to patients after 31st January 2018.
- Not having permanently ceased providing dental care to patients directly or through any associated practices. On the other hand, dental care clinics which were not operating during the pandemic are also eligible to receive the HHS dental care grant.
- Is an individual providing dental care under Form 1040, Schedule C, Line 1, not reporting income on a W-2 form as typically not required for statutory employees?
How to apply for HHS Grants for Dentists
If you, as a certified dentist, wish to apply for HHS grants, you will need to do a little research beforehand, which helps to make the application process smoother. Simply visit HHS’s official website and click the “for providers” tab. You will see instructions on how to fill out the form.
Some essential documents you need to keep handy when filling out the online application include:
- Tax forms were filed for the past three years – 2017, 2018 and 2019.
- Form 941
- Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return (for Q1 2020)
Medicaid and non-Medicaid dental care providers will find the instructions clear and easy to follow. Make sure to keep a note of the loss of revenue suffered from the lockdown restrictions. This figure needs to be listed as a negative, such as –US$10,000.
How do the HHS Grants for Dentists help Dental Care Providers
The application for HHS grants for dentists is easy to complete. After completing every segment of the application process, you will have to wait a while to receive a confirmation email stating that the last application step was successful.
This might sound like a tedious process; however, the overall process is very simple and convenient.
Successful applicants can receive additional funds to help cover unpaid bills that piled up in most dentist offices when lockdown restrictions prevented them from regular practice.
Conclusion
The US Department of Human and Health Services has started allocating relief funds for dentists whose practices have suffered financial losses due to being shut during the pandemic lockdown.
This is an excellent initiative by the federal government to help the struggling dental care industry in the US.
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